STAFF from a Weymouth garden centre took on national retailers at the final of a retail skills competition.

The workers from Goulds Garden Centre, Littlemoor Road, faced teams including Marks & Spencer in the Skillsmart Retail Visual Merchandising competition - a contest designed to highlight the skills needed to work in retail.

The three-man team - Michelle Brown, Dominic Brown and Tom Honour - was judged to have the best display at the live final at the In-store Show, London.

But they were pipped at the post by Marks and Spencer, whose overall score over the three stages of the competition was higher.

Michelle Brown, who is in-house garden designer at Goulds and headed up the team, said that they were delighted with their performance.

"We knew we couldn't win on the day, but we had so much support that in our hearts we won.

"It's been a great day and we're really happy with the display."

The team's entry fitted in with this year's set competition theme: The Energy of Life - about how retailers can help address global issues.

Goulds recreated a suburban garden on the stand, using a mixture of reclaimed timber, organic products, solar panels and organic plants.

Michelle said: "We were trying to show how anyone can be green in their garden.

"Everything that we used was designed to encourage wildlife and help people to grow their own vegetables and herbs.

"Anyone can do this at home - livening up their garden and making it environmentally friendly at the same time."

Competition organiser Ann Webster said that she was really impressed with Goulds.

She added: "This competition was designed to show the high level of skill required to work in retail, and Goulds proved that skill levels are just as high in local stores as they are at a national level."

Team member Mr Honour, 18, is taking an apprenticeship in horticulture and works four days a week in Goulds and spends one day a week in college.

He said: "Working in retail is more than just working behind a till.

"While I've been at Goulds I've been putting out displays, selling, and trying to see the store how customers see it to make it better for them."

Rebecca Murphy, who is associate director at Goulds, said that she was proud of the team.

"At Goulds we have always believed that the people of Dorchester and Weymouth should always have the best and we are proud of the high standard of visual merchandising that we display in our department stores and garden centre.

"This competition gave us the opportunity to show what a small independent company can do in a national arena."